German

Teaching and Learning of German

Teacher:

• Dr. Áine Francis-Stack, Head of Modern Languages and author of the Junior Certificate German textbook Wie, bitte?

Click here for the Department of Education and Science Subject Inspection Report on GERMAN in Tullamore College (2008).

For the academic year 2009-10, our school is hosting a German language assistant from Berlin. This assistant is working with Dr. Stack and giving our students extra tuition in the spoken language.

Awards and Scholarships 

Eoin Mc Evoy achieved the highest mark in Ireland in German in the Leaving Certificate in 2009. On the 14th November he was awarded the GDI (Gesellschaft der Deutschlehrer Irlands / German Teachers' Association of Ireland) award for the highest mark in German at Higher Level. The examiner who corrected Eoin's paper explained that he had achieved full marks and said that it had been a joy to correct his work. At the awards ceremony in Trinity College Dublin, Eoin thanked his teacher, Dr Stack, for all her help throughout his six years in Tullamore College.

Eoin got 580 points in his Leaving Certificate and is now studying German, Irish and Politics at University College Dublin.

A Tullamore College Transition Year student was awarded a scholarship by the German government to travel to Passau in Bavaria, because of her exceptional results in the Junior Certificate German exam. Following her exams and an interview in the German language, conducted in the Goethe-Institut in Dublin, our student came in the top 20 German students in Ireland. She spent three weeks with a Bavarian family during the summer of 2009, improving her German, attending school and getting to know the German people and culture.

Foreign Exchange 

Since 2008, Tullamore College has been twinned with the Friedrich-Ebert Gymnasium (secondary school) in Sandhausen, Germany. In the first year of our partnership, the Sandhausen students paid Tullamore a visit, staying with the families of our own students, attending school and visiting cultural and heritage sites. At the end of 2008, Tullamore College returned the visit:

"We arrived in Frankfurt airport on the 22nd of October and travelled to our partner school in Sandhausen. We were greeted by our host families, who had prepared food and a large banner in Irish- "Fáilte chuig an nGearmáin!"- to welcome us. We were allowed time to get to know our partners and soon after this went home to our hosts' houses, where we all experienced warm hospitality and a range of different German foods. During our stay in Germany, we visited the 13th Century castle and the shops in Heidelberg, we spent a night on the ice rink and we experienced German culture at the Mercedes museum. We were brought around the streets of Stuttgart and treated to some fine delicacies by our German friends and we spent a day in class at the Friedrich-Ebert Gymnasium, where we sampled various subjects and noticed the differences between German and Irish schools. It was a great experience and I am glad to have taken part in the exchange. Thanks to Ms Stack and Frau Reske for organising such an enjoyable trip."

-6th Year Student, Lauren Coyne (2009)

Click here to visit our twin school's website:

 Friedrich-Ebert Gymnasium